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ADVANCED FILTRATION SYSTEMS INC.

By The News-Gazette

CIB Contributor

Photo by: Heather Coit

Company Bio

Advanced Filtration Systems Inc., located in Champaign, was established in 1986 as a joint venture between Caterpillar Inc. and Donaldson Co. AFSI designs and manufactures high-efficiency fluid filters used in Caterpillar machinery worldwide. The company opened a branch in the Czech Republic in 2009.

Its filters are used in oil filtration, water separation, and both engine and hydraulic systems.

Employees

The company employs about 270 people, most of them production line workers.

Products

Advanced Filtration Systems Inc., located in Champaign, was established in 1986 as a joint venture between Caterpillar Inc. and Donaldson Co. AFSI designs and manufactures high-efficiency fluid filters used in Caterpillar machinery worldwide. The company opened a branch in the Czech Republic in 2009.

Its filters are used in oil filtration, water separation, and both engine and hydraulic systems.

Employees

The company employs about 270 people, most of them production line workers.

Products

AFSI specializes in lube, fuel and hydraulic applications. Its filters keep more contaminants out of engines, making them more durable and helping them operate more efficiently.

AFSI manufactures about 100 varieties of filters and parts. It produces and ships about 16 million items each year -- about 11 million in Champaign and 5 million to 6 million in the Czech Republic.

All of its products are made for Caterpillar or Caterpillar subsidiaries, and they are made according to design specifications from Caterpillar. AFSI makes 80 percent of the filters in the engines in Caterpillar machines, said Chris Pokorny, global sales and marketing manager for AFSI, and the goal of the company is to manufacture 100 percent of the filters Caterpillar uses.

Interesting fact

AFSI was named a Top 10 North American manufacturing plant by IndustryWeek magazine in 1992, and it was one of 25 finalists for the honor in 2006.

The company has won several Caterpillar awards, including the Caterpillar Chairman's Award for sustainability, a Level 5 Contamination Control rating (Caterpillar's highest), Platinum Supplier status for quality excellence and the Chairman's Award for product quality.

Pokorny said AFSI expects to open a third plant somewhere in the Asia/Pacific region in the next five years.